Jimmy Nicholl’s eyes light up when he remembers George Best.
Northern Ireland’s assistant manager was mesmerised when he first saw Best in action – at Windsor Park in 1967.
And he was also bedazzled when they were both on the books of Manchester United and on the five occasions when they played for Northern Ireland together.
Jimmy was an 11-year-old spectator at Windsor Park in October 1967 at the game which is known as ‘The George Best Match’. That was the day Best single-handedly dismantled Scotland as Northern Ireland secured a 1-0 victory in a British Home Championship game.
But he really caught what he calls the “Best bug” when he watched his performance in the 1968 European Cup Final on TV at his home in Rathcoole. Best scored in extra time as Manchester United triumphed 4-1 against Benfica at Wembley, becoming the first English club to lift the trophy.
“The way he scored after taking the ball around the goalkeeper, it just plants a seed in your head. I thought to myself ‘look at this fella, he's from Northern Ireland, he's playing for Manchester United and they’ve won the European Cup’. And then later he becomes European Footballer of the Year,” said Jimmy.
“When you were watching him you were just transfixed by him. Unlike these days where they all have their tricks, it was all about balance and body swerves. The tackles were horrific. They're sliding in from all angles, but he's riding tackles. And he still played with a lot of grace.
“Then, of course, there was the game against England (in May 1971) when there was something nobody had ever seen before. Gordon Banks (goalkeeper) throws the ball up in the air. It’s in play so Bestie knocks it over his head and heads it in. I still can’t believe it was disallowed.”
Nicholl signed for Manchester United on schoolboy forms at the age of 15 and a year later he regularly got to see Best get ready for training as the apprentices had to ensure the changing rooms were kept clean for the senior players.
He remembers that George often arrived at training on a Monday morning covered in cuts, bruises and stud marks on his calves from weekend games.
“He was brave and he was tough. He would tell the physio to put plasters on his swollen calves. He just wanted to train and to just go out and play,” he said.
Although Jimmy was too young to play with Best at Man U, he does remember watching the boy from East Belfast score his last goal for United in December 1973 against Coventry.
He also remembers Best going to play in America with Los Angeles Aztecs in 1976. He then returned to this side of the Atlantic to play for Fulham for a season before going back to the Aztecs and on to Fort Lauderdale Strikers. He returned to Britain for a stint with Hibernian before enjoying arguably his most successful period in the States with San Jose Earthquakes (21 goals in 56 games).
Jimmy recalls: “There was one goal he scored for San Jose Earthquakes where he beat five men. Incredible. The Americans loved him. They had seen Pele and Franz Beckenbauer play, but with Best they saw a different style of play, with him beating four or five men, dribbling and just doing what he's doing.”
The former Manchester United, Rangers, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion defender also fondly remembers George’s spell at Fulham in the 1976-77 season where he and Rodney Marsh ripped Second Division defences to shreds.
“I remember Fulham were compulsive viewing on Match of the Day. If Fulham were on the telly you stayed in on a Saturday night to watch Best and Marsh as there were no video recorders in those days.”
Best’s performances with Fulham earned him a recall to the Northern Ireland squad - after an absence of nearly three years - for FIFA World Cup 1978 qualifiers. Danny Blanchflower was the Northern Ireland manager at the time.
And that’s when Jimmy got to play on the same pitch as George – on five occasions between 1976 and 1977.
He remembers George being “one of the lads” and being extremely humble despite his superstar status. “When George met up with the group he would just pull a seat up and then sit and listen to the stories being told. We wanted George to talk to us about his life, however he just loved sitting and listening to the rest of us,” he revealed.
By that stage George was a midfielder rather than a forward and “could put a ball on a sixpence”, according to Jimmy.
Best’s most famous game in that period was a World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands in October 1976. The Dutch team was packed with world class players, including the legendary Johan Cruyff, but George stole the show.
Jimmy recalls: “That was the night because he was up against Cruyff and (Johan) Neeskens, who was Cruyff’s minder. George told us he was going to nutmeg Cruyff and he did just that. George was brilliant in the middle of the park, just spreading the ball about. He was outstanding.
“Unfortunately we didn’t qualify (for the World Cup in 1978) which was a shame for George because they always said he was the best player never to have played at a World Cup.”
He also revealed Billy Bingham considered bringing George to the World Cup finals in Spain in 1982. He said the players in the squad all wanted him to go, but the manager decided against it.
Jimmy is adamant that if George was aged 21 and playing right now he would be a global superstar once again.
Best scored just over 200 goals in around 600 appearances as a professional player, and nine in 37 appearances for Northern Ireland, and Jimmy reckons he would double that tally, and provide tons of assists, if he was playing on today’s top-level pitches.
“If you can dribble past four or five players on a patchy pitch, with mud and puddles, what could you do on a good one?”
And Northern Ireland’s assistant boss insists George is the best player he has ever seen.
He points to the fact that Best started out as a winger before becoming a centre forward and was then just as potent as a midfielder.
“To me that’s a great footballer. Also the grace that he played with, the bravery he played with, the vision and the skill, for me he was just on a different level. He was a genius.”